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Don’t let blindness keep us in Iraq quagmire

Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, Jul 02, 2008 - 05:25:02 am MST

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To the Editor:

America has lost more than five years, 4,000 troops, and $600 billion in its war in Iraq. Lives, time, treasury squandered because our president was determined to topple an Iraqii regime that had no weapons of mass destruction, posed no immenent threat, and harbored no bands of al-Qaida terrorists. Now we have a presidential candidate who agrees with this. What is more upsetting is the fact that he doesn’t think it matters how much longer we stay there and will not talk about how much it will cost.

John McCain is my senator. He suffered both physical and mental cruelty in another war. I respect his service and convulse when I think of his torture. I want to understand his willingness to waste our military where it cannot fight the war it should be fighting. I cannot.

By now … no, long before now … we should have captured the one man most responsible for the tragic events of 9/11. By now we should have severely weakened ability of al-Qaida to harm our country or any country. By now we should have seen our national debt eliminated.

Instead, Osama bin Laden is free to call for more violent acts of terror. Al-Qaida is at least as strong as it was when it first attacked the United States. Our government runs on money borrowed from foreign nations. Our national debt is at a record level.

Now my senator, a presidential candidate, asks us to stay indefinitely, even 100 more years in Iraq. He tells us leaving isn’t that important. Please, Senator, re-think these things. We got into this quagmire because we were misled at best and manipulated or lied to at worst. Do not let blindness be a reason for keeping us there.

Stephanie L. Koppenhafer

Sierra Vista

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Larry Talbot wrote on Jul 8, 2008 4:19 PM:

" The Iraqis are demanding a timetable on our withdrawal. Next tuesday is good for me "

Oil Interests Served wrote on Jul 5, 2008 11:34 PM:

" Larry, no need to worry, Obama is gettin an education in who really runs the show just in case he gets elected. You can rest assured that the oil interests will always have the US military to protect them, no matter who is the puppet in office. "

Larry Talbot wrote on Jul 3, 2008 12:55 PM:

" But we have just awarded the Oil Leases, who will protect Exxon, Chevron and Shell. "

Half Step wrote on Jul 3, 2008 6:06 AM:

" You are correct Tim, we have not lost enough troops. Let us focus on another country that has no bearing on us at all. Let us make war on them because our President believes .... Let us close our eyes to the reasoning behind the war and all become ultra patriots that not only will not question their leaders but will send their children to die or become injured. Hold on let me get my copy of MEin Kampf. Where is that part about the repition of a lie......hehehehehee Now quote and deny, your children still die. Sieg Heil! "

Tim wrote on Jul 2, 2008 10:38 AM:

" In 2006 17,034 people in the U.S. lost their lives to violent crime. In California 2,485 people were murdered, 7 per day average. Iraq is the size of California, and we lost 822 soldiers in Iraq that year. Let's pull our people out of California and leave it to the criminals and a corupt legislature as there is no way we can win in this war on crime. "